Lesson 1: Child Online Safety

Importance of Online Safety

Sharenting is common among parents who are proud of their little ones. However, it sometimes involves oversharing sensitive information on social media, such as birth dates and school locations. Although this might not seem like a big deal, the real threat comes from those who exploit your child’s data or images.

For us adults, online privacy usually means keeping our data safe. But when it comes to our kids, there's a whole different set of concerns. It’s not just about protecting their personal information from the prying eyes of strangers; it’s also about setting a limit on their screen time to protect their mental health.

There are 3cs of online safety concepts you should be thinking of:

Concerns: What content are the children seeing? Is the content inappropriate images or texts?

Contact: Who are the children speaking to?

Conduct: Is the unknown person grooming, sending explicit images, or bullying online? [1]

Common online threats TARGETING CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS

Some common risks and threats that target children and teenagers are: Online Predators, Cyber Grooming, Online Harassment (Cyberbullying or cyberstalking), Sexting and Identity Theft.

Online predators, often referred to as cyber pedophiles, target young children and teenagers through various social media platforms and online games. They engage in conversations, sometimes pretending to be their age to gain more information and trust. This tactic known as cyber grooming, allows the adult to befriend and earn the trust of their young targets. The intention is to exploit these minors by persuading them to share explicit images and manipulating their innocence. Another disturbing trend is sexting, where individuals exchange sexually explicit messages, photos, or videos. While many parents might not expect minors to engage in sexting, it is often a result of manipulation by online predators. [2]

Online harassment comes in different forms, including cyberbullying and cyberstalking. Cyberbullying involves intentionally harming through digital communication channels such as social media, emails, and chats. However, being anonymous on the internet can make it difficult to identify the perpetrators, who often hide behind fake profiles. Cyberstalking includes persistent, invasive interactions such as excessive messaging, emailing, and commenting.

Children can also become victims of identity theft from the moment they are born. Suppose a parent shares a photo of their child along with sensitive information like their birth date, full name, and birth city. In that case, malicious actors can potentially access more personal data, including social security numbers.

Psychological impact of online exposure

A statement was made by the U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory, alerting the public on how social media is affecting the youth’s mental health. Social media platforms are constantly being used. Research has been done on young adolescents, and approximately 95% of children aged 13 to 17 and nearly 40% of children aged 8 to 12 are active on social media platforms, with a third of them constantly engaged. The state for adolescents aged 10 to 19 is in a critical period of brain development. The frequent use of social media during this time can alter brain development, affecting areas such as impulse control, emotional regulation, learning behaviors, and social interactions. The use of social media has increased depression and anxiety, exposing young people to harmful content that normalizes dangerous behaviors, including self-harm. [3]

Children whose parents overshare on social media can experience the same psychological impact as children’s social media usage. Parents who share their newborn baby online have already created a digital footprint for their child without their consent or knowledge. Kolb wrote that in one study, “56% of parents shared (potentially) embarrassing information about their children online...27% of participants shared (potentially) inappropriate photos.”  When the children start growing up, they are unaware of the embarrassing and inappropriate photos; this could result in low self-esteem and have lasting impacts on securing employment and educational opportunities or having resentment towards the parents. [4]